The problem with India is that we don’t have an efficient Opposition. Most of it is scattered and because there is division of votes, the party in office has learnt the trick of holding on to office by using various methods, some tactical, but mostly dubious.
If the Opposition manages to put up a coalition then they have to fight against the not so trustworthy Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) and if at all they manage to cross the EVM hurdle then they have to make sure their colleagues don’t jump ship and join the government. In this crazy situation there is one big loser i.e. the voter who at the moment is unable to change underperforming governments.
What underperformance? Well, gone are the days when governments lost office when there was a change in onion prices. But the situation today is such that voters are unable to show their power or rather the voter has accepted the hopeless situation that their votes have lost all meaning.
Last month all of a sudden Amul Dark Chocolate price jumped from Rs 100 directly to Rs. 200. That’s 100% inflation. Agreed, cocoa prices have shot up worldwide, but still do not justify doubling the price. This type of inflation makes Venezuela’s 35% hyperinflation comparatively bearable. But then many will dispute Amul is a private company and in free markets they can price their product a hundred or thousand, either we consume or shun the product, the choice is for us to make.
But the phenomenon does not stop at dark chocolate only, there are many examples of basic food prices such as onion, veggies, bread where prices have shot up much more then the official Reserve Bank of India’s inflation figures, which makes one wonder whether the inflation figure calculations are really done at Mint Street or the numbers arrive all prepared from North Block and RBI just dishes them out, just to fool the public that the institution is independent and has absolute no pressure to dance to anybody’s tune.
Brent Crude prices in 2013 were above US$ 100, then in 2022 again it crossed US$ 100 but they are now hovering in their 70s. However there is no respite at the petrol pump, where the fuel prices are even higher than what was charged in 2013.
Many might argue that the government is trying to dissuade ICE cars and instead promote electric vehicles (EVs) by artificially keeping the petrol prices inflated, but then why is the extra money pocketed not used to subsidise EVs.
Don’t buy the environment green narrative the government is trying to make us believe, they have found a hack to stay in office indefinitely and they are going to fill their coffers, come what may.
Political fans might say that the money collected is given as free ration to millions of citizens below the poverty line. Realistically, the government should have ideally lost office for pushing so many of the citizens below the poverty line.
Actually this is another hack to stay in office perpetually, push as many citizens as possible below the poverty line so that they are at the mercy of the government for their sustenance and in return the citizens are supposed to show their gratitude by voting them to office.
Gone are the times when governments were supposed to be empathic and work for the betterment and uplifting of the society. The strength you see in pockets of the economy is despite the government. So let’s get this straight, the government does not like you to be too wealthy because that has a direct correlation with your independent thinking ability. It will do what is beneficial to their goals, which need not necessarily be in alignment with the citizen’s objective. Rather it will checkmate you wherever possible all for their benefit.
Remember recently in the budget most might have cheered the government decision to reduce import duty on gold from 15% to 6%. Well don’t be under the impression it was done for the citizen’s benefit, the government had issued sovereign gold bonds sometime back and the time for their redemption is coming close.
Reducing import duty impacts the price of gold, which means the government cash outgo becomes less during redemption. The loss is for the investors, who invested in these gold bonds as 9% of their investment, which was shaved off overnight.
Perfectly legal tactic, but not ethical on the government’s part, but there is nobody to point out these tricks the government plays on its citizens and the funny part is there are some Indians giving the budget a 9/10 within hours of its release. A document that takes a year to prepare is reviewed by people in no time without realizing that the devil is always in the detail.
In a recent interview, a prominent Mumbai-based real estate developer was discussing his helplessness in providing low cost housing because 50% of the cost in real estate is taxes collected by various government agencies. Add to that, the government has a fixed rate on land or real estate prices to make sure nobody takes them for a ride by paying less taxes.
We are supposed to be operating in free markets no, and yet the government meddles with pricing by artificially keeping it inflated to make sure their coffers are not compromised.
So here is the gist of this piece, the government really does not want you to have a big bank balance, it wants you to be in a hand to mouth situation by making you spend more and more so that they can take their cut in the form of GST or any other form of tax.
What tax cannot do inflation does it for the government i.e. chip away the savings of the people, once saving get depleted the citizens automatically lose their voice and are forced to keep their heads down and work only to feed the government.
However, the opposition can easily win any elections provided they call out the government action and promise taxes will be reduced and in some cases even abolished. But they also seem to prefer the huge tax and inflation burden the common man faces.
(The author is a
business consultant)